Negotiations

After dinner this evening I offered Thomas a bite-sized konjac jello.

Thomas: Why are you giving me one?
Me: Because I love you so much. Also because they are delicious.
(He swallows it in one gulp.)
Thomas: Mama, you are going to give me another one because you love me SO MUCH!

Favourite story these days

Thomas is really into improv stories these days. Though there is some variation, the plot generally goes something like this:

Jane has been kidnapped by [name of villain].

Mama is [negative emotion or behaviour resulting from experience of negative emotion].

Thomas will find Jane.

Thomas enlists the help of [names of 4+ superheroes].

Thomas and [names of 4+ superheroes] travel in [superhero vehicle] and a rocket to [name of villain's lair].

Thomas uses his laser to stun [name of villain]. [insert name of superhero] uses his [superhero weapon] to get [name of villain].

[Name of villain] is taken to the intergalactic police station where he is put in prison.

Thomas returns home with Jane and Mama thanks Thomas for bringing Jane home safely.

:: The end ::

An aside: we went to Toy Story Land last week, and Thomas' favourite ride was the Army men's parachute ride--a child-friendly version of a free fall ride. A boy after his mama's own heart!

Brother, sister

(Jane is crying.)
Thomas: Jane's sad, Mama.
Me: Yeah, I know. I'm not sure what she's upset about.
(Actually, I knew why she was sad. She was sad because I took a toy away from her in order to change her out of her onesie that was covered with food. Jane does not like to be changed.)
Thomas: I know why she was sad. She was sad because she couldn't see me.
(He wasn't wrong. She stopped crying the moment she saw him.)

Phoning it in

Kids know when you are just phoning it in. Particularly when it comes to play. Last night we were playing battle. Usually I am full of sound effects, but last night I was preoccupied about something, so I was doing the sword fight while thinking about something else. Five seconds into the battle, and this happens:

Thomas: Stop, mama! Use your mean face!
Me: Oh, ok. (I oblige, and we continue.)
Thomas: (Another five seconds later) No mama! Use your mean words!

And much fun was had by all

For Thomas' and Simeon's birthday, we went to Disneyland. Yes, there is a Disneyland in Hong Kong. Now, anyone with small children can tell you that there is always an element of surprise and unknown when these sorts of outings are planned. Things that you thought would be great might actually be duds, and things that you think would be duds might actually be great, simply because of a certain X factor called "children". We had arranged for us, plus my parents, to spend a day at Disneyland. I approached it with very very mild caution since additional factors such as "meltdown", "tantrums", "sugar high", and "long waits" can have a significant effect on the quality of the time had.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly the trip went. We checked into the hotel (we stayed overnight in order for Thomas to have breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto the next morning), then headed to the park. Queues were surprisingly short, the weather was just lovely (about 25 degrees Celcius, sunny and dry), and most importantly, Thomas enjoyed the rides. We did the Buzz Lightyear ride three times.

We did everything: Mad Hatter's teacup, Dumbo ride, Flying Saucers, Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World (which I enjoyed, to my surprise), the Lion King show, Tarzan's tree house...everything. We ate burgers for lunch and popcorn and waffles for tea. Simeon commented that he felt like he was in Orlando, except it was a bit more smoggy and there were Chinese people everywhere. Jane just slept whenever she wanted to. We headed back to the hotel for a pre-dinner rest:

Dinner was lovely, and included a lotus seed bun made in the image of Chicken Little. Thomas took off his glasses and called him his "baby". "He bumped his head!" exclaimed Thomas when Baby rolled around in the steamer.

My favourite three year old, looking too grown up in a bathrobe:

And finally, the priceless shot with Minnie at breakfast. You should have seen his face when she came over and gave him a hug.